Muscle Memory
by totheendoftheworld-ortime
Summary: A collection of drabbles and one-shots, mostly focused on Captain Swan. Essentially "missing moments" and character thoughts from the season 4 finale, at least for now.
1. Introductions

"Killian, this is my mom. Mom, Killian."

It took a moment for Henry's words to register in her mind. She was so lost in Killian's eyes, after she'd been so afraid she'd never see their piercing blueness again. Even once she understood, understood that she was being _introduced_ to the man she was clinging to so desperately, the man who had gone through so much with her, Emma's gaze didn't falter. It was only when he blinked hard, shook his head, and stuck out his hand in greeting that she could totally accept that this man did not share her memories. This man was not _her_ Killian.

"Yeah, um… pleasure," Killian blurted, loosely shaking her hand. Emma couldn't determine quite what Gold and the Author had done with him, but she had no doubt he was not quite her dashing rapscallion of a pirate captain in this world. Her Killian had never sounded so awkward, so meek, in any of the realms or realities they had traversed together.

"Yeah. Right," she said, finally breaking her gaze from his. "We need to get going. We've got a wedding to stop." _And you've got memories to get back_ , she added to herself.

Mustering all her composure, she picked up her skirts and broke into a run for the exit, hoping the look on her face was coming off as determined rather than exposing her feelings of desperation.


	2. Below Deck

Emma left her pirate above deck with his celebratory goats' milk while she went in search of clothes that didn't require a corset. She was in something of a daze trying to process all that had been changed. Henry had filled her in on Regina, Robin, and Zelena back in the tower. She somehow had memories of her parents and their allies ruling with an iron fist. But this version of Killian was so strange, but so _him_ all at the same time, she was having to constantly remind herself of their present situation to stop herself from blurting something that might scare him off.

Stepping down from the ladder, she bumped into Henry.

"Oh! Sorry kid," she apologized. "I'm not all here right now."

"It's okay mom. Nothing's right and you've been locked up in a tower," Henry replied with a shrug.

"God, it felt like _years_. I knew you'd find me, but that didn't make it easier," she sighed, taking a moment to blink a tear back. She shook her head gently, trying to chase away the feelings of madness that had settled into the far reaches of her mind. "How long did you say it was?"

"You've been in here for two days."

Hearing that, knowing how little time it had taken her to feel such pain, brought back the threat of tears. Clearing her throat, she gave Henry a tight hug and waved him up the ladder. She didn't want him to see her break down. As soon as the grate closed above her head, Emma crumpled into a heap on the floor, sobbing. _Two days_. She'd gone as mad as Jefferson had been, in _two days_. She shuddered to think how long it would've been, or how long it would've _felt_ , had Henry not been able to track down Isaac, and she was briefly grateful that the damned author had been so set on fame and fortune.

The grate clattered as it was shifted and lifted open. Emma hurriedly wiped away her tears and stood up, turning to see Killian descend the steps.

"Um… I was just looking in to see if you'd been successful down here," he said, scratching behind his ear in that way that transcended his many lives. "I-I mean I found some smaller articles, um… in the case there wasn't anything appropriate here."

He offered her a small pile of garments and shifted his weight awkwardly from foot to foot. She nodded, taking them and setting them on a trunk.

"Thank you, Killian," Emma said with a smile. His cheeks reddened almost immediately. "I appreciate your hospitality, welcoming me aboard."

"Certainly your boy told you, I'm a mere deckhand. She's not my ship to welcome you to." He tilted his head in thought for a moment. Emma thought the expression resembled that of a perplexed puppy. "Although, since your boy knocked Blackbeard cold on my behalf, I don't believe I'll be welcomed back to my position."

Emma chuckled. "Sorry about that. He was quite determined, from what I hear."

"Well, I suppose part of that was my doing, since I _did_ teach him to sail."

She gasped and stared at him more intensely. "What? You… remember?" she asked, dredging up the hope she'd begun to lose.

"Oh… oh no. I d-didn't mean to… Henry, he told me I taught him," he whispered, looking away. "You both have memories of this other life and I… I quite like what I've heard of your adventures."

She felt her heart simultaneously fall to her feet and beat more intensely. Leaning forward a bit, she caught his gaze again. "And I quite like what I've lived of them."


End file.
